online marketing

If you haven’t been to Save.ca lately you need to check it out as you will find that the user experience is greatly improved. The experience is simply much more user friendly. The majority of the flyers are now fully tagged which allows the user to create shopping lists, find the store closest to their location, share favorite deals socially (I do this daily), add the retailer to favorites lists and click through to the company website. Download the app and you can scan your favorite loyalty cards, redeem coupons through the cash back feature, find stores using your phones GPS signal and it gets better. Check out the new deals section, read the articles to improve your shopping experience and even step up your game in the kitchen by watching one of our how to recipe videos. If partying is more your thing join the next Twitter party which are always among the top trending events on Twitter. Of course there is more so it’s time to check it out.

What does this mean for our advertisers?

Replacing the flat rate model we once had we will put your company on a cost per view (CPV). How this works is we agree on a budget for each flyer campaign and it is up to Save to hit that budget on a CPV basis. This encourages a relationship between Save and the advertiser to grow together and it is up to us to deliver the audience we agree to at the start of the campaign. Once we show a high ROI we know if we can increase the flyer views the advertiser will see the added value with the increased investment. This is our standard flyer view opportunity. Now comes the fun part! The flyer tagging allows us to share metrics well beyond flyer views, page views and impressions. We are able to share product information such as which flyer items are being clicked on most frequently, click thrus to the company website, total items added to shopping lists and total dollar value added to these lists. This is valuable information which can help with planning of future flyers in terms of products but it also shows the likely ROI as we know these shopping lists are being used for the consumer’s next shopping trip. In order to maximize the traffic we will also include your flyer with a save.ca e-blast to our 1 million subscribers coast to coast. This isn’t even close to everything the site has to offer but since I like to keep my blogs to 500 words or less this is all you are going to get for this one. You will just have to set up a meeting to discuss your next flyer, deal or coupon campaign and I will knock your socks off with the all new Save.ca.

In recent years I have made my living selling multimedia campaigns for clients which include printing, flyer distribution, direct mail, posting the flyer on save.ca (Metrolands digital flyer and coupon site) and various online marketing platforms such as geofencing, sponsored content, behavioral targeting, ROS you get the idea. I have always been a believer in the multimedia approach as opposed to being a 1 trick pony. In today’s ever changing advertising landscape if you are just responding to the customers ask that is no longer enough. With the emergence of digital media and Metroland’s reputation being the kings of print we need to introduce and sell our digital platforms to our customers. It is crucial that we offer these digital opportunities to our clients along with traditional media such as Metroland’s targeted flyer distribution, creative executions (door hangers, post its, flyer wraps etc.) and ROP.

At Metroland Corporate Sales we tie in traditional and new media which is proving to bring positive results for our advertisers. We have many flyer options both printing and distribution utilizing our 170+ community and daily newspapers. We have creative execution options such as door hangers, post it-notes, leaf bags (not the sports team thank thankfully), post cards, flyer wraps, false fronts (this gets you a wrap around the front of the newspaper), and anything else you can dream up. Now comes the fun part. Advertisers are still learning Metroland has many viable digital options. Most know save.ca, WagJag and our community sites which are all very strong, industry leading high traffic sites which boast over 8.5 million monthly unique visitors. What many still do not know is Metroland offers an ad exchange through another Torstar property EyeReturn which has over 30,000 sites in the network including nearly 90 per cent of the most visited sites in Canada. It is through this arm that we offer our geofencing and behavioral targeting. Another digital trend sponsored content is a natural for us as we can share your message on our 40 plus community and lifestyle sites. Tap into our 3 million opt in emails through WagJag, Save.ca and Travel alerts and target these deal seekers by lifestyle, income, postal code and more. Use Save.ca to promote your contest, run a daily deal with WagJag or challenge me to come up with a creative solution to meet your advertising needs. We also have a strong automotive audience with Metroland owned sites like Wheels.ca and Autocatch and a very impressive behavioral targeting platform with literally hundreds of user segments on auto alone which you can target. Of course there is much more depending on your marketing needs.

So give me a call, send me a note and let’s sit down or set up a call to discuss your marketing needs so that we can together come up with a multimedia solution to promote your business or product.

Earlier this week Marketing Magazine published an article on email marketing stating that it is on the rise. Email marketing in 2015 was up 14.8 per cent over 2015 and another increase is expected in 2016. According to the article 8 out of 10 consumers want to receive emails from brands they are interested in so I am referring to permission based emails. Since the new anti-spam laws were introduced in 2014 a more targeted approach has been adopted to email marketing campaigns.

Metroland Media has over 3 million opt in emails across Metroland brands such as Save.ca, WagJag and Travel Alerts. These emails allow us to target users based on geography, user interest, demographic data etc. and of course you can also send out mass emails much like you would with a printed flyer if that is what you want. Even before the article was released I noticed that the demand for this type of marketing was increasing as more and more corporate clients have been asking for email solutions and I see the engagement when included in presentations.

If you are looking at sending your message out to consumers who want more information regarding your brand there isn’t a better place than Metroland’s 3 million plus opt in emails. Whether it is your first campaign or have completed many get in touch with me so we can share our audience with your new potential customers. I have copied a link to the article that appeared on Marketingmag.ca.

If you are in the home improvement or décor business you need to take a hard look at Metroland’s Make Yourself @Home feature section to be distributed to over 900,000 homes in 10 regions throughout Ontario. We are targeting those who spend on additions, renovations and alterations, household furnishings and equipment using expenditure data. Your ad may include a combination of A traditional ad plus advertorial (which you can provide or Metroland will supply) or you can just use the space how you choose. It doesn’t stop there in addition to having an ad in the section your business will receive 450,000 online display impressions across the Metroland digital network, 4 separate weekly deals on save.ca, 2 Save.ca homepage takeovers, a social media message to our over 700,000 fans and logo inclusion in a Make Yourself @Home email marketing campaign to 160,000 subscribers looking for deals just like yours! The best part of all of this is the price at just $19,999 for a full page in the section which includes all of the digital trimmings. If you were to break this down and book a full page in the respective Metroland newspapers in the Make Yourself @ Home markets and buy the digital media separately you would be looking at a $139,000 investment. Now that’s a great deal! We also have a sponsorship opportunity available where your business is branded as the expert in your competitive business category. If you are in the home improvement or home décor business and are looking for a campaign with a huge impact to your targeted audience look no further. In home dates are April 28-29 with a booking and material deadline of April 11th. It’s never too early to plan for a huge spring so get in touch with me and let’s set up a meeting.

On November 16th of this year I started working at Metroland Corporate Sales as a Corporate Account Executive. Now that my fourth week has come and gone and my first 2 weeks working full time the timing is right to provide an update. My primary focus has shifted from the east region to the National level where I will be representing Metroland corporate when I pitch the various Metroland marketing platforms as opposed to regional campaigns. As a Metroland corporate account executive I will have the same products to represent and then some but the buyers and geography will be different. Newspaper campaigns throughout southern, western, central and eastern Ontario covering 115 community and daily newspapers will be a large part of what I do. Ask me about our regional newspaper ROP packages! Whether it’s an ROP advertising campaign or targeted flyer distribution using Metroland’s precise targeting we’ve got you covered. Don’t have a printer? No problem not only will we distribute your flyer we also offer print/distribution flyer packages targeted to the markets of your choice. Want to go outside the Metroland footprint with a campaign just call me before you start calling non Metroland newspapers across the country as we can look after your campaign start to finish. Need help with an eflyer? How about on one of Canada’s leading flyer and coupon sites save.ca? You can also post your coupon, email blasts and much more. If you are interested in a digital campaign ask me about our audience extension/retargeting or geofencing which goes beyond the Metroland network accessing over 30,000 premium Canadian websites. We also have over 50 of our own sites including news, lifestyle and deal sites where you can buy impressions, takeovers and more. The fastest growing digital trend content marketing is becoming one of our biggest strengths as producing content after all is what we do best. Tie your article to native ad impressions and you are set with some high impact brand awareness across the network. This is just the start Metroland Media does much more so call me at 416-493-1300 ext 248 or email me at geoff.josey@metroland.com so that we can discuss a multimedia marketing strategy for your company across the Metroland network.
Follow me on Twitter @GeoffJosey

By now it is no secret that most businesses need an online marketing strategy in order to capture an audience that is growing by the day to complement traditional media such as print. This is becoming old news and what you hear now is businesses that do not have a mobile marketing strategy you are missing an audience which in some cases may be the only way to reach for example millennials. As more and more of us continue to use our smart phones and tablets as the primary internet source in the confines of our homes to surf the web a mobile marketing strategy becomes a crucial element of any marketing plan. We do after all buy and sell audience.
Lucky for you and Me Metroland Media has many ways to reach the mobile audience but my favourite is our geofencing platform. Geofencing uses the GPS signal in mobile devices when location services are turned on so that we can serve up ads to users surfing websites within a radius for example 2 km around a Health club to attract new members. Metroland’s geofencing platform has access to over 30,000 premium Canadian websites and apps such as Kijiji, The Weather Network, Rogers Sportsnet and cbc.ca just to name a few. We can serve ads on all of these sites as part of our geofencing capabilities thanks to Eyereturn Marketing (a subsidiary of TorStar).
To provide an example of the relevance of this audience let me share an experience I had in the Kingston market which is by no means leading the way from a mobile marketing perspective. During the first week of September when post-secondary students were coming back to town I sold just fewer than 2.5 million impressions to local businesses wanting to primarily reach this audience. This ranged from pizza places to auto shops to retailers both local and national. Many of these impressions were targeted within a 1-3 km radius around the campus and to be delivered within a relatively short period of time (1-3 weeks). Not only is a mobile marketing strategy the best way but also arguably the only way to reach this audience. In addition to the obvious benefits the CTR (click thru rate) is very high. In most cases from my experience on the Metroland network geofencing averages a .5 per cent CTR and upwards of 1 per cent depending on the campaign. 100,000 impressions which is a $1000 investment with Metroland, in many cases would bring 500-1000 clicks with the extreme low end being 350 if the campaign bombed. Take that to the bank for a ROI.
If your company has a digital strategy and you think that is enough chances are you need to re-evaluate your marketing strategy and introduce a mobile marketing campaign. For my money and yours in my opinion there is not a better place to start then a Metroland geofencing platform.
Follow me on Twitter @GeoffJosey

Later today I will posting 14 new save.ca customers online in the Kingston region which reaches the greater Kingston, Belleville and Brockville areas. If you are looking to reach a deal seeking audience why not do it with one of Canada’s leading flyer, deal and coupon sites such as Metroland’s save.ca. Even though this is a national site this is the perfect opportunity to get your message to a local audience who are going online looking for bargains and you will get noticed with large retailers such as Shoppers, Home Hardware and Metro just to name a few. Users go to Save.ca and search online flyers, deals and coupons based on category or just generally browse the flyers in no particular order much like they would their Metroland newspaper. All flyers are fully tagged so you can create a shopping list and share your deal socially to your audience so it’s very user friendly. There is also a very popular save.ca app which will display flyers and deals closest to you based on your location using your mobile devices GPS signal. One of the latest features, the cash back option gives users the option to get paid to shop. You simply go out and shop, submit your receipt and you get a cheque in the mail. For example if there is a 50 cent off coupon on pasta out there and you don’t have it no problem simply send in your receipt and you get that 50 cents back.

Most of my clients are looking to reach this bargain hunting audience whether it is with the Metroland newspaper, direct to door products or our online audience. Save.ca is the perfect way to do this while being very cost effective especially for a local retailer or business. Users only go to Save for one reason to find bargains so make sure you look at this site the next time you are planning your newspaper, flyer distribution or direct mail campaign.